National Warplane Museum kicks off crowdfunding project

“We looked at several of the crowdfunding platforms, such as GoFundMe and KickStarter. Naturally there is going to be a cost involved to use these platforms, but these costs due vary depending on the size and scope of the project. We found that Indiegogo met our needs the best due to the fact that, unlike other platforms, our organization would still receive donations, even if we are short on our goal,” said Craig Wadsworth, Director of Aircraft Maintenance.

The National Warplane Museum’s campaign, “Let’s Do a Little More for Les,” is geared towards restoring the interior of its C47, “Whiskey 7,” back to its original D-Day configuration.

This includes the installation of the original “pan-style” aluminum seats, used when transporting paratroopers to the drop zones in Europe on D-Day.

Other projects include restoring the radio room, navigator station on the aircraft and other furnishings.

The museum hopes to raise $35,000 to begin these projects.

The campaign title is a salute to World War II veteran Leslie Palmer Cruise, Jr., who is believed to be the last surviving paratrooper that jumped from Whiskey 7 on D-Day. Cruise joined Whiskey 7 and her crew while in Normandy in 2014, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of D-Day.

“It is our hope to be able to secure the funding for these projects so when Les visits the National Warplane Museum Airshow in July, we can update him with the latest plans and projects,” said Dawn Schaible, Director of Planning.

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